Does the financial advisor have an own website ? Do you like it ? Or does the financial advisor just have a entry at Steuerberater.net ?

What are the howrs of opening ( acccording to the website ) ?

The financial advisor claims to be specialist for your own business ( in my case “IT” ).

I definitely need consultation how to claim my self-employment - with the focus on processing contracts where I am paid for each working hour ( “Dienstleistungsvertrag” ) - as privileged graduated freelancer ( “Freiberufler” ), instead to be forced to open a trade business ( “Gewerbe” ) with need to pay industrial tax ( “Gewerbesteuer” ).

A good indication to have a contract as privileged graduated freelancer might be that the term “engineer” is part of the job description, e.g. “Test Engineer”, “Software Engineer”. If the name in the job description is just “Software developer” or even “Fachinformatiker” ( the name of a non-academic education ! ), this might be a critical indication that I need to open a trade business by applying for a trade license ( “Gewerbeschein” ) .

I need consultation how to apply some costs as business costs, for the tax authorities.

The rental of a temporary flat at the location of the customer, as temporary place of living.

Travelling tickets for travelling between the location of the customer and my temporary flat ( daily travel ).

Travelling tickets for travelling between the location of my temporary flat and my home flat ( travel each or each second weekend ).

If you search for financial advisor in Bielfeld, with business databases like Gelbe Seiten, there are some different areas.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Mitte.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Innenstadt.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Deppendorf.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Gräfinghagen.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Innenstadt.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Mitte.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Niederdornberg.

Bielefeld Stadtteil Schröttinghausen.

I was told that in the innercity regions, for Bielefeld at least “Bielefeld Stadtteil Mitte” and “Bielefeld Stadtteil Innenstadt”, the financial advisor tariff rates ( “Satz” ) are usually more expensive than those of financial advisors in the surrounding area. In big cities, the rate for a certain service might be “10/10” ( = 100% ), while it might be “8/10” ( = 80% ) in the surrounding area. Note that the rate is individual for services, so there are some services with a rate of 1/10 and some with a rate of 10/10.

It is important ( for me ) that my financial advisor can be reached with public transportations, easily .

Negociation about a professional indemnity insurance ( Berufshaftpflicht ) and a comprehensive general liability ( Betriebshaftpflicht ) and financial strategy.

Negociation about the suitable accounting system for me, and the basic condition.

Net income method ( Einnahme-Überschuß Rechnung ).

Drawing up a balance sheet ( Bilanzierung ).

Ask the tax accountant to create an attestation document ”Betriebswirtschaftliche Auswertung” ( BWA ), that the tax accountant expects that you as startup entrepreneur will earn less than 1277.50 EUR/month in the current calendar year ( January - Dezember ). Even if you don´t get a reduced tariff, by this you can be shure to pay the lowest standard tariff .

Ask if the costs for the extra flat at the plant of the customer is allowed to be counted allowed against tax!

Get a date with your dentist , for an early teeth inspection.

Get a date with your chimney sweeper, for an early chimney inspection ( General rule: Dates might be a maximum of 3 months prior to the regular date, in advance ).

Getting sent the contract from placement company, ready for my signature.

What is the due date for payment ( “Zahlungsziel” ) ? Taking 45 days as example: If the contract starts at 2012-04-01 and I can write a bill at 2012-05-03 ( 3rd day of next months ), I might have money on my bank accout at 2012-06-20.

Do a liquidity planning ( with a spreadsheet calculation ). As result, please deposit enought noney on your bank giro account, to be shure to be able to pay your bills at any time in the starting phase of the job!

The health insurance assumes a minimum salary of 1916,25 EUR/month. Salary means gain ( sales - costs ). This results in a minimum health insurance fee of about 320 EUR/month. There are several tariffs !

You might apply the health insurance to grant a reduced tariff ( “mit Beitragsentlastung” ). In this case, the insurance assumes a minimum salary of 1277,50 EUR/month. This results in a minimum health insurance fee of about 220 EUR/month. Regularly, this is granted for self-employed startup business people who were “arbeitslos” before the founding of their enterprise and get an official subvention for founding an enterprise by the labour office ( “Gründungszuschuß” ). But you can apply anyhow, even if your status is just “looking for work” ( “arbeitssuchend” ).

Apply for the reduced tariff by completing the application form “Antrag auf Beitragsentlastung” and add the document ”Betriebswirtschaftliche Auswertung” ( BWA ) as certification.

Scenario.

You start your business in 2012-01-01. You apply for reduced tariff.

In 2013, You & your tax accountant do your tax computation ( “Steuererklärung” ) for your business as fast as you can, so that you receive your tax bill for your business ( “Steuerbescheid” ) of your tax authorities in 2013-05, hopefully. In case of freelancers and sole trader, there is just one tax computation both for private life and for business.

If you earned more than 1277,50 EUR/month but less than 1916,25 EUR/month, you have to pay the insurance fee based on the 1916,25 EUR/month tariff from now on.

If you earned more than 1916,25 EUR/month, you past and future insurance fee is even much higher.

For now, lets assume that you earned more than 1277,50 EUR/month but less than 1916,25 EUR/month.

You have to pay the insurance fee based on the 1916,25 EUR/month tariff for the time of self-employment in 2011, so the health insurance demands a supplementary compensation.

You have to pay the insurance fee based on the 1916,25 EUR/month tariff from now on, starting with next 1.st day of month.

In 2014, You & your tax accountant do your tax computation ( “Steuererklärung” ) for your business as fast as you can, so that you receive your tax bill for your business ( “Steuerbescheid” ) of your tax authorities in 2014-05, hopefully.

What needs to happen so that you can apply for a reduced traffic again ? 2 conditions must be both true ( not alternatively )

You must earn less than 1277,50 EUR/month, according to your tax bill ( “Steuerbescheid” ).

Additionally you must be a hardship case ( “Sozialer Härtefall” ), as the tax authorities may expect that your future income will be 25% lower that your past income according to the text bill ( “Steuerbescheid” ). Your tax authorities have to state this in official letter about the payment in advance ( “Vorauszahlungsbescheid” ).

Warning #1: So if you earned 1700 EUR/month in 2013, 25% lower income in 2014 is 1275 EUR/month. So if you earn less than 1275 EUR/month, you will get the reduced tariff. But if you just earned less in 2013, e.g. 1500 EUR/month, you are not a hardship case if you earned 1277.50 EUR/month in 2014.... and have to pay the full tariff.

Please send a paper photocopy of the certification about leaving your church ( “Kirchenaustrittsbescheinigung” ) together with the original income tax card ( “Lohnsteuerkarte” ) to your financial office, so that the religion is deleted from the church tax section. The financial office sends a new ( or updated ? ) income tax card ( “Lohnsteuerkarte” ) right back to you, within a few days, by snailmail.

In a case of a move to a new town, I need another private bank account, for the costs of personal living and the rental fees of the flat. Transfer of the complete money stream to this new account is mandatory.

It is a good practice to note the current values of the electricity power and gas counters of the “homebase” flat, to be able to report it online to the power provider, in time, though absence from the “homebase” flat.

Just for me: Talk with the data acquisition company A.C. Nielsen GmbH, to negociate about / announce a data acquisition pause until I have a new flat, and telephone.

For the first time, it might be good choice not to relocate completely, but to look for a ready-furnished apartment, often advertised in Germany as “Gäste- und Monteurzimmer”, “möblierte Wohnung”, “möbliertes Zimmer” and by terms like “Kurzzeitmiete”.

The costs for a secondary residence ( flats: rental fee without extra charges and without utilities ( “Kaltmiete” ), hotel rooms: total costs without breakfast of course ) might be acceepted by the finance office as expenses from tax measures, for some time .

Traveling costs to the primary residence are never accepted by the finance office